


he knows shes pretending.

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Can't quite say I Love You, F/M, Marauders, Party, Pre-War, Seventh year, They do kiss though and thats nice, They're in love and deserve to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 17:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12063852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It's Dorcas Meadowes birthday, but Sirius and Mary wind up absorbed in their own world.





	he knows shes pretending.

**Author's Note:**

> hhhhhh this is probably not the best tbh. i just really like this ship a lot so i wrote up this lil one-shot for fun. didnt proofread it or anything (i have a bad habit of that) and im pretty sure the tenses are a mess. but hey enjoy anyways!!

“May I have this dance, MacDonald?” 

She was sitting on the couch in the common room, reading out of her potions book. She was never good at Potions, especially when compared to how she excelled in History of Magic, Ancient Runes, and Charms. There might be a party going on in full swing in the common room; butterbeers being passed around, treacle tarts by the dozen, loud music thundering from a source that must’ve been magically enhanced because no radio would play that loud, and of course, the constant roar of people attempting conversation by shouting over the music. Mary suspected someone must’ve enchanted the common room for the night, silencing the noise to anyone on the outside. She could’ve gone to the library, if she really wanted to study, but she reckoned Marlene might’ve tackled her if she tried to leave. 

But then there was Sirius, requesting her to dance with him in shout over all the noise, and Mary actually hesitates. They had their NEWT’s coming up, and as much fun as it would be to celebrate Dorcas Meadowes’ birthday with the rest of her friends, Mary was worried about failing. She needed at least an A on her NEWT’s if she wanted to get into the Ministry and --- 

“MacDonald,” Sirius repeats himself, his hand still extended. She’s watching him, but hasn’t answered. He tilts his head to the side, his grin warm and inviting. “Did you want to dance? Or are you going to play deaf all night?” He asks, and Mary has to laugh; her cheeks turning pink. 

“I suppose I could spare you a dance,” Mary tells him - and watching his face light up makes her heart swell. She hardly has the time to set her book down before he’s taking her hand and pulling her up to her feet. Dragged around the coffee table and around to the back of the couch, where the other furniture has been cleared out and party-goers danced and swayed together. 

As if on cue, the music changed from a fast song with a thunderous bass, to a slow one. Mary can’t make out the words, but she has no doubts that it’s romantic. She easily falls into Sirius, their hands intertwined, his hand resting on the small of her back, and hers around his shoulder blades. She’s pressed close to him, and she could feel her heart beating against his chest. He feels her breath warm against his neck, where she leans her head. Her eyes immediately fall shut, and she has never felt more at home in her life. 

Sirius guides the dance. Silent as he sways her slowly, moving in circles. The music is only a buzz, and Mary can only hear him as he finally whispers to her. “We graduate soon, you gotta learn to have fun before we go,” He points out, and she gives a little nod. 

“Can’t have fun if I don’t graduate,” She teases lightly - but she knows he’s right. She can’t spend all of her time hopelessly studying, especially in such an environment. Or when the alternative is being wrapped in in Sirius’ warm embrace, and Mary decides that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. She feels his hand squeeze hers, and she returns the gesture. 

“We should do this more often, Sirius,” She says, and the music changes, but neither of them make any move to change their dance. They’ve only been dating for a couple of months now (after three years of pining encouraged by their friends) and Mary has already decided that she doesn’t want anyone else but him. She can’t imagine anyone else making her feel that warm and dizzy in the simple act of holding her. She can’t imagine telling anyone else about how she’s still scared when she sees that Slytherin green -- and how much she hates that Mulciber dug so deeply into her mind and tore her apart. She can’t imagine being held by anyone else, and how she feels like she could just stand in his embrace for the rest of her life and be perfectly content with doing so. 

She recalls the memory of her brother once telling her; don’t marry someone you can live with, marry someone you can’t live without. 

And she’s decided that it’s him. 

“We should,” Sirius agrees. There’s always a pause between their talking, but it’s not strange. The silence is comfortable, and each word is carefully crafted and delivered in smooth and quiet voices. One song fades into another. “But to do it again means we’d have to stop doing it in the first place,” 

Another laugh falls off her lips, and she checks that off as another reason why she never wants to let go of him, he can always make her laugh. She feels like she’s floating on air, and she doesn’t want to let go. But eventually, the songs start to meld, and people jump and bump against them, and Mary finds herself stepping back, leaning up on her toes to press a short kiss to his lips. 

“I ought to get back to studying,” She pointed out, and Sirius let out a rather over dramatic sigh at that. 

“Really, Mare?” He asked taking both of his hands in hers. 

“Yes, really. I’ve had fun. Now, I’ve got to get back to work.” She squeezed his hands, before making her move to pull away. 

“How about you come up to my dorm?” Sirius suggested, “You’d be able to study better, and I could sit with you, hovering over your shoulder and being a general nuisance.” A grin became clear on his face as he spoke, and Mary couldn’t help but cave. Agreeing, she took up her book again, and the pair climbed the stairs up to the boys dorm. It was empty at the time, and even if she had never been up in the boys dorms before, she’d be able to tell who’s bed was who’s. Sirius’ was surrounded by posters of both muggle and wizard rock bands, his curtains were pulled shut, and most of of his clothes were stacked on top of his trunk, rather than stowed in it. James’ bed had a couple of Quidditch pictures over it, and Mary noticed a few polaroids with a spark of red hair in them; she had no doubts it was pictures of him and Lily. On his side table gleamed his Head Boy badge, to which Lily had an identical one in their dorm. Remus’ bed was the most organized of the four, his curtains open, and with the way they were tied up still, Mary guessed he never closed them. His bed was neatly made, and a couple of books were at the foot. His trunk was tattered and worn, Mary suspected it had been passed down for a while, but it was closed, and Mary suspected he was hiding books and chocolates underneath that padlock. And of course, there was Peters - messy and unkempt. His blankets were half on the floor, and a few of his pillows were discarded onto his trunk, which had a stack of books, clothes, and a few quills pointing out of it. Mary had been about to comment, but then there was a light pulling on her hand and she noticed Sirius had disappeared behind his curtains, and was pulling Mary back too. She went willingly. 

Eager kisses were shared in the secrecy of his bed, and it was only when her ears stopped ringing that Mary noticed it was utterly quiet, except for the sounds of the two of them breathing against each other and connecting their lips over and over. After a few moments, she sat up, leaning against his headboard. 

“Studying?” Sirius asks, and Mary responds simply by opening her book onto her lap. He resigns, and sits next to her, his arm wrapped around her, and her head on his shoulder as she reads out the pages. She grows tired, and closes the book as she curls up to him, sharing a few more kisses with him. 

“Tired now?” Sirius questions, a slight grin on his lips. Mary nods wordlessly, and she really didn’t need to speak. He understood. He lifts his blanket, and Mary pushes her potions book out past the curtains to land on the floor. They curl up close to each other, a mess of tangled limbs and dark hair as they hold onto each other. 

“It’s all going to change when we graduate, you know,” Mary tells him softly, and she feels his breath hitch. There’s a war brewing, and although they’ll be fighting on the same side, there's no telling how it’s going to turn out. She feels Sirius pulling her in closer. 

“I know,” The thought hasn’t left his mind either. 

“I’m scared,” She confesses. A statement she had only ever shared with him. His lips press against the top of her head. 

“I am too.” 

And that’s all, there’s a silence that settles between them. The air is heavy, and she counts every single breath he takes. Until, she falls asleep. She always falls asleep before him. 

“I love you,” He tells her - only when he knows she’s asleep. 

Dawn breaks; and Mary knows because even though she can’t see the light, she has an uncanny habit of waking up at that exact moment. But she doesn’t move. She’s still held close to Sirius, and although his grip has loosened in the night, she finds herself unwilling to move. His breaths come ease, and she thinks this might be the one day when she could just fall back asleep. 

“I love you,” She whispers against his chest. Her eyes falling shut again. She doesn’t sleep, but she pretends to be for a few minutes longer once he wakes up, just so they could stay in each other's arms a while longer. 

He knows she’s pretending.


End file.
